Ruckus over lawyers' appointments mars Rajasthan Assembly; Congress MLA evicted by marshals

Jaipur, Aug 5 (PTI) Ugly scenes were witnessed in the Rajasthan Assembly Monday after chairperson Sandeep Sharma ordered marshals to evict suspended Congress MLA Mukesh Bhakar from the House.

Other Congress MLAs prevented marshals from escorting the member out of the House. One MLA fell down during the mêlèe, another said her bangles broke.

Slogan-shouting Congress members then occupied the well of the House, sitting on a dharna even after the chairperson announced an adjournment for the day.

Speaker Vasudev Devnani had earlier adjourned the House twice amid chaos over the appointment of government lawyers under sections of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) instead of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The House was adjourned for the day later by Assembly Chairperson Sandeep Sharma.

In a statement later, Devnani said MLA Bhakar displayed indecent behaviour with his hand gestures, which is unheard of in the history of the Vidhan Sabha since 1952. "The opposition taking the side of such a member is highly condemnable and defending such a member is also indecent," he said.

Bhakhar was suspended by Speaker Devnani on a proposal moved by the Chief Whip Jogeshwar Garg from the meetings of the current session.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the opposition MLAs were treated undemocratically in the Assembly and condemned it in a post on social media.

A row broke out in the House when, after the lunch break, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully raised the issue of appointment of government lawyers under CrPC, demanding a reply from the government on the matter.

"The CrPC ended in the country on June 30 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita came into force from July 1. After July 1, the citizens and police in the country are bound to follow this code.

"But, the Law Secretary of the Rajasthan Government has appointed government lawyers in 12 districts under Section 24 (2) of the CrPC. This appointment should have been done under Section 18 of the BNSS," he said.

"The government should respond to this. Under Rule 256 of the Constitution, the state government is bound to follow the laws of the Government of India," Jully said.

Without naming anyone, Jully also alleged that a minister's son has been appointed as a government lawyer. The Chief Whip said the person must have been appointed on merit and it is not a crime to be a son of a minister.

Though Devnani said the matter of appointments has come to the notice of the government, Congress MLAs insisted on a response from the state government. Devnani denied the requests citing House rules.

A heated argument followed between the Speaker and the LoP and several Congress MLAs, who were asked several times to go to their seats.

Devnani expressed displeasure over the behaviour of Congress MLA Bhakar and asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to bring a proposal for his suspension.

On behalf of the government, Chief Whip Garg said, "Speaker Sir, on the one hand, you are trying to innovate, while on the other, the opposition is misbehaving. The Chair is being disregarded and insulted. The Chair is being threatened. This is condemnable.

"Therefore, I propose that Rajasthan Assembly member Mukesh Bhakar should be suspended from the meetings of the current session for the indecent behaviour towards the chair." Devnani approved Bhakhar's suspension and adjourned the proceedings of the House for half-an-hour and later extended the proceedings again for 30 minutes.

Later, Chairperson Sharma asked Mukesh Bhakhar to move out of the House, but when Bhakhar did not pay heed, he asked the marshals to take him out of the House.

This led to commotion and strong resistance by the Opposition Congress members, who surrounded Bhakhar and prevented marshals from taking him out. Women MLAs alleged that marshals misbehaved with them.

"Women are not safe in the House. A woman MLA was ill-treated in the House. What will happen to a common woman? My bangles were broken by the marshals," Congress MLA Anita Jatav told reporters outside the House.

Jully said, "People of Rajasthan have elected them to do service but here they (BJP MLAs) are shattering law and order. We are sitting in the House and staging dharna." Congress leaders continued staging dharna even after the House was adjourned for the day.

Gehlot in a post on X later said, "I strongly condemn the suspension and forceful expulsion of Congress MLA Mukesh Bhakar from the Assembly first, then the marshals throwing senior MLA Harimohan Sharma to the ground and even breaking the bangles of MLA Anita Jatav by misbehaving with her." PTI AG SDA VN VN